Friday, September 21, 2012

Charter Cherry-Picking

Charter schools always claim that they do not select their students as some accuse them of doing. They speak of their lottery systems and how they have to turn students down because there is more demand than space to house the students. Well, according to this article, some Philadelphia area charter schools are discovering ways to be selective without being selective. I know that all charter schools may not engage in such practices, but how can people continue to purport that charter schools do a better job with the same students when many don't enroll the same students?

For years, parents have had to jump through astonishing hoops to apply to the popular Green Woods Charter School in Northwest Philadelphia.

Interested families couldn't find Green Woods’ application online. They couldn't request a copy in the mail. In fact, they couldn't even pick up a copy at the school.

Instead, Green Woods made its application available only one day each year. Even then, the application was only given to families who attended the school’s open house – which most recently has been held at a private golf club in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Green Woods CEO Jean Wallace declined to be interviewed. In an email, she lauded her school’s “very transparent and very collaborative working relationship” with the District’s Office of Charter Schools, which oversees Philadelphia charters.